KICKBOXING

The half marathon training program consists of more than running. In fact, required running days are only scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The other days of the week, sans the one rest day, are for cross training, stretching and strength training. So far I have been using those days to either lift with Rod or do some other cardio activity other than running (the stationary bike for me at this point). But it looks like there is now another option - kickboxing. Danny Daniels is the owner of ECSA Martial Arts Gym in Durham. I've met Danny a few times because of our mutual love for a certain Durham bar (James Joyce!) and many mutual friends.

Last week, Meredith and Lauren attended a couple of classes and invited me to try one out. Danny's running a special deal right now - you can try out one class for free and sign up for a two week trial for $40. Why the hell not?

I was nervous for last night, my first class, but I am happy to say I really enjoyed it. The first class was really just learning the moves and wrapping my brain around all the different things to think about when you are throwing punches or doing kicks. Turn your arm, don't over extend, pivot on the ball of your foot, point your toe. You start doing all these things at the same time and your mind is all over the place. But it was a kick ass workout, and I look forward to the next couple of weeks. I am going to give it a shot for that time period and decide how and if I want to incorporate it into my long term training. I will do 2-3 days a week for my trial period, and after that I will consider continuing that schedule, ramping it up to 3 days a week or cutting it down to 1 day a week. We will see!

But I can say that I am very glad I went. It felt really good, but it was also a lot of fun. I will keep you posted on the progress!!!!

On the running front, today may be the first run I don't complete in the training process. It is unbelievably cold outside today. I am considering putting on some fun music and jump roping and conditioning at home for a while rather than running. i don't know if I can do a 19 degree run......

UPDATE: I did in fact do my scheduled run last night. I got home and it was cold, but it didn't seem THAT cold. Therefore, I came inside, changed and grabbed the iPod. Although I made it through my run - DAMN it was cold.